When "Listen to Your Gut" Means So Much More

My husband just stopped home for lunch with a taco salad he picked up from somewhere. I had just started eating some chicken and potatoes left over from last night's dinner. At the end of his meal, he had a small pile of tortilla chips left over. He asked me if I wanted the chips and without much thought I said,

"Let me see how I feel after I finish this."

It doesn't seem like a significant response, but after I said it, I realized it's something I've probably said hundreds of times when asked if I want to eat something.

To be honest, the chips looked and sounded good when he first mentioned them. I knew I had some peach-mango salsa in the fridge that they'd be perfect with. But after I finished my meal, I felt satisfied. I was comfortably full and the chips didn't appeal to me anymore.

Many people think that because I'm a dietitian, I plan my meals very carefully, accounting for every calorie and tallying every nutrient I ingest. While I do have the ability and training to do that, it's just not a realistic, or necessarily healthy long-term lifestyle. I don't "diet" or count calories. I don't plan my intake to the letter. So what do I do?

I listen to my body.

While that may seem like a simple statement, it's increasingly difficult for many of us to do. Through fad diets, the overwhelming amount of false nutrition information out there, our busy, distracted lifestyles, and other factors, it's easy to see why we find it hard to hear what our bodies are telling us over all the noise.

I'd love to help you reconnect with your body and form a healthy relationship with food. I'd love to show you how to stress less, enjoy food more, and become healthier because of it. Check out the nutrition counseling services I offer and let's start this journey together.